A key bantamweight matchup between Song Yadong and Henry Cejudo came to an unfortunate conclusion Saturday, one that might require the UFC to book an immediate rematch.
Yadong (22-8-1) defeated Cejudo (16-5) by technical decision when the fight was stopped after the third round because Cejudo couldn’t see after an accidental eye poke. The 135-pound bout, which headlined UFC Fight Night in Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, was scheduled for five rounds.
All three judges scored the abbreviated fight in Yadong’s favor: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.
The fight went to a technical decision because it went three full rounds, as Cejudo tried to continue after the eye poke and ultimately finished Round 3. Had Cejudo been unable to continue immediately when the eye poke happened, the fight would have been called off and ruled a no contest.
After the result, Yadong suggested an immediate rematch.
“That was totally an accident,” Yadong said of the eye poke. “The result is not what I wanted. I’m so sorry. Henry is a legend. We should run it back. We will fight again.”
A former two-weight champion, Cejudo, 38, who made his first appearance in almost a year, also expressed interest in a rematch. He made it clear that retirement was not on his mind after the unfortunate result.
“I couldn’t see out of my left eye,” Cejudo said. “The right is OK. That last minute [of the third round] when he was chasing me, I didn’t know what he was throwing. I wanted to continue, but if I couldn’t see, he was just going to hurt me. Of course, we can run that back. One hundred percent.”
The eye poke occurred late in the third round, as Cejudo moved forward with punches and Yadong extended his hand defensively. The contest was heating up at that moment, as Yadong had seized a lot of early momentum but Cejudo was finding success with jabs and straight left hands. Cejudo, a former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, couldn’t get Yadong down and had committed to a stand-up affair.
Cejudo bloodied Yadong’s nose with punches in the second round. Yadong, who is 11 years younger than Cejudo, consistently beat him to the punch in exchanges in Round 3. According to UFC Stats, Yadong outlanded Cejudo 84-67 in total strikes. Cejudo went 0-for-3 on takedown attempts.
Heading into Saturday, Cejudo was the No. 7-ranked bantamweight in the UFC. Yadong was ranked No. 8.
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